December 30, 2016

"In his waning days in the White House, President Obama is desperately trying to make his policies as permanent as possible by tying the hands of his successor — and far more than other presidents have done on their way out."

"From his dramatic and disastrous change of US policy on Israel to his executive order restricting 1.65 million acres of land from development despite local objections, Obama is trying to make it impossible for Donald Trump and a GOP-controlled Congress to govern."

So say the editors of the New York Post.

ADDED: Remember when leaving mad just meant prying W's from computer keyboards, ripping the phone cords from the wall, stealing doorknobs, leaving notes that said "GET OUT," and pasting up stickers with the new President depicted as an ape? Those were simpler times.

77 comments:

Jersey Fled said...

Worst ... president ... ever

Hunter said...

You can count on the people bitching about what the Republican NC General Assembly has done to take back powers from incoming governor Roy Cooper to be equally outraged about this.

Because they're consistent.

SayAahh said...

I am old enough to remember when taking the W keys off the keyboards was a nasty move.
The Obama transition team is removing all of the keys.
Enabling a smooth transition.
LOL

chickelit said...

Wan waning in the dusky daze of last days.

Steven Wilson said...

Like you Hunter, I'll be waiting for their outrage.

There is no point in calling attention to the fact there is a significant difference between a legislature passing laws and an executive acting by fiat. All those legislators will be facing the electorate again, and Obama will not.

Remember how he assured the Russians he could be more flexible once he had no more elections to face back in 2012.

I don't know how much of this can be undone by a stroke of a pen or how much can simply be ignored. Ideally, the incoming administration would go to the UN and say "Here's this do over on the Israel resolution." Vote yea or be prepared to do without any money from the US.

Curious George said...

A double flush isn't going to be enough to get rid of this turd. Gonna need the plunger.

YoungHegelian said...

Thanks, President Obama, for setting a precedent for President Trump to follow in 4 or 8 years!

Do these people ever think this shit through? Like, ever?

AllenS said...

Trump, and may I add, Putin realize that Obama is acting like a petulant little child throwing a temper tantrum. Russia has already said that it will not throw out our diplomatic people. Why? Because Putin, dirty bastard that he is, is one thing, and that is a grown man.

JRoberts said...

I seem to remember there were calls in late 2008 for President Bush to "step aside" to allow President-elect Obama to start implementing his policies even before his inauguration.

Now Obama is trying to prevent his successor from implementing his policies AFTER his inauguration.

Such arrogance and hypocrisy - aka business as usual for Obama.

Darrell said...

Sign counter Executive Orders on the first day, fire anyone who doesn't follow those orders. Civil service won't protect you from insubordination termination.

khesanh0802 said...

Since very little that Obama has done, or been doing lately, is legislative in nature it will be relatively easy to undo "by the stroke of a pen". I read somewhere the other day that Clinton withdrew acreage from reserve under the act Obama just used to forbid drilling on certain lands. The precedent is clearly there for that as well. If Obama thinks Trump is not going to do all he can to invalidate executive orders he doesn't like you weren't listening. Obama, and his incompetent staff, are dreaming if they think any of this latest nonsense will stand regardless of what they are telling the press. As we have seen, pissing Trump off is not a smart move.

Putin certainly sees through all this BS.

Hunter said...

Civil service won't protect you from insubordination termination.

"Have you ever heard of insubordination termination?"
"I don't listen to hip hop."

traditionalguy said...

The Russians are unloading too. They point out that Obama has done more damage to the USA's reputation in the world than any foreign country could ever hope to do.

Dude1394 said...

Disgusting excuse for a president. I think Russia has it pretty pegged....LAME...

But when the campus's of Google/Apple are declared national monuments, don't come crying to me. :)

Once written, twice... said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Once written, twice... said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Once written, twice... said...

Ann, within a year you will be embarrassed that you did not do one critical post about Trump during his rise in 2016.

Comanche Voter said...

Petulant little boy. Not even a small man. Just little.

David said...

Smooth Transition Go BOOM!

Matt Sablan said...

This is so petty the Heartbreakers might feel compelled to step in.

traditionalguy said...

See, the latest Wonder Woman YouTube of Conway interviewed by CNN. She calmly trashes the whole Obama/CNN propaganda machinery as the total idiots they have decided to become with Serious Russian Attacks.

Comanche Voter said...

Once written, thrice posted? Give me a a break.

holdfast said...

I doubt you can reverse a "National Monument" designation with an Executive Order, so it may be time to amend the Antiquities Act to solve this and future abuse.

rcocean said...

If Obama can do all this with executive orders, why can't Trump just UNDO everything by executive order on Jan 21st?

rcocean said...

Bush II refrained from criticizing Obama in his first year. Let's see if Obama has the same amount of class.

Fred Drinkwater said...

JRoberts:
Quite right. Dan Rather, Tom Friedman, and others called directly for there to be no "transition period". NPR and at least one of the major networks used interview programs to advocate for that also.
Check out this link with many quotes from that period:
http://archive.mrc.org/notablequotables/2008/nq20081215.asp

Anonymous said...

It would be hilarious if Congress, on January 21, passed legislation that specifically repealed all of the last-minute regulations, rules, and other actions subject to their competence between November 9 and January 20, while Trump similarly issued an executive order overturning the last minute policies Obama put in place.

Between Trump and Congress, there isn't a single domestic policy Obama can make that can't be overturned once he's out of office.

The real place he can do lasting damage is with foreign relations, and it seems Obama is doing the best he can to cause a train wreck there.

rcocean said...

I see Obama set aside lots of land in NV and Utah as national monuments. Republicans are OUTRAGED.

Do people understand that the 4 corners area and land outside Las Vegas is almost all worthless desert and mountain?

Oh Yea said...

It started with Michelle cementing in her garden (speaking of thinking it through, you think Trump has ever been slowed by needing to remove concrete for any of his real estate projects?). But I'm afraid Obama is saving the worst for the last days. It's going to be a long three weeks.

Guildofcannonballs said...

"Let's see if Obama has the same amount of class."

We are seeing, now, he doesn't. Are you blind or something? Have you watched little Arya Stark in Game of Thrones get blinded and beaten? Sometimes blindness allows for the otherwise unnoticed to come into the light.

Anonymous said...

Galactic Overlod Xilch just declared the Milky Way a 'Resplendent Zone Of Peace'

Screw The Galactic Council!

FullMoon said...

rcocean said... [hush]​[hide comment]

Bush II refrained from criticizing Obama in his first year. Let's see if Obama has the same amount of class.


hahaha! Good one !

Matt Sablan said...

Wait. She concreted over the garden that symbolized healthy eating for children? Just to spite Trump?

Hunter said...

@rcocean

To point this out immediately leads to the question "So why make them national monuments?"

Typically the idea of a national monument is that it's something of value and significance.

Guildofcannonballs said...

Do people understand Las Vegas was worthless dirt 100 years ago, in a desert for God's sake, but is now more than dirt?

Manhattan was dirty dirt alone 500 years ago.

Israel 3000 years ago too some say.

Dwight had it right: Baby Things Change.


campy said...

Bush II refrained from criticizing Obama in his first year. Let's see if Obama has the same amount of class.

I won't be surprised if he leaves the capitol steps at 12:03 and goes to CNN's studio to critique Trump's inaugural address live.

Hunter said...

Trump knows anything Obama does on his own can be reversed on day 1. Republicans know it. Russia knows it.

It's strange that apparently Obama doesn't know it.

That's being charitable. Because if Obama knows that and is doing this stuff anyway, then it's just him giving Trump the finger. And that wouldn't make Obama as classy as Occupy Democrats is always telling me he is.

Birkel said...

Who here was warned in 2008 and ignored the warnings?

Show of hands, please?

Unknown said...

I live in Utah, rcocean. Over 70% of this state is "federal" land. We, the citizens, have very little control over almost all of our state. And Obama, in a fit of pure spite that everyone knew was coming, locked up another chunk of land bigger than Rhode Island so that people cannot even go onto it without begging some fat guy in a chair in DC for permission.

Bill Clinton locked up some multi-billion tons of exceedingly high grade, low pollution coal when he declared a "National Monument" that goes on forever in Utah. Obama's trying to lock out all the oil now.

Meanwhile, our forests die from tree beetles that the environmentalists scream must be protected, even as they lay waste to millions of acres of timber.

I spit on Obama and his administration. I would rather be under Russian control--they don't hate me in this state as much as the Democrat party does.

--Vance

JAORE said...

"Because if Obama knows that and is doing this stuff anyway, then it's just him giving Trump the finger. And that wouldn't make Obama as classy as Occupy Democrats is always telling me he is."

Like a certain pipeline permit. I suspect it will be permitted, but Trump will be painted as anti-environment/Native American by coming back to where the Obama administration was pre-Hillary Fail.

alan markus said...

One of the Russian perspectives:

Others believe that Obama, like a bad tenant, is trying to ruin everything in the apartment he no longer rents.

Russians Attack ‘Political Corpse’ Obama

A perspective shared by many a HUD assisted housing manager or Section 8 landlord re: occupants of public housing.

buwaya said...

It's a little early to say just how useless the land around Las Vegas / Four Corners is, or other such parcels. Perhaps there is some economic value to it that isn't yet apparent, some industry, some shift in population, who knows.
Much other such sequestered land was in use, such as pasture. It's a low-value use but important to some people. Most cattle range, as I understand it, is public land as in the West it was not possible to obtain large parcels as private property.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Trump knows anything Obama does on his own can be reversed on day 1. Republicans know it. Russia knows it.

It's strange that apparently Obama doesn't know it.


Obama knows this as well. He is just trying to gum up the works. Trying to destroy any chance of cordial relations with Russia or the ability of Trump to work towards diplomacy in the Middle East. Obama wants to inflict as much harm onto Trump and his incoming administration and cause the most amount of damage that he can. Trying to eliminate the possibility that the individual States might be able to use their own resources and create economic growth. He is doing anything he can to harm the American people and to harm Trump.

The fact that some of his actions, especially in the international arena, could conceivably lead to actual war, death and destruction means nothing to Obama as long as he gets his petty revenge for being dismissed. Obama doesn't care if he burns his own party to the ground with his actions.

Obama is an evil, petty, not really very intelligent person. The sooner he disappears into obscurity the better. Unfortunately...Obama is going to be like the rude guest, the turd in the punch bowl and will not leave and cannot be wished away.

Hagar said...

May look worthless to you, rocean; it isn't worthless to us.

Birkel said...

Dust Bunny Queen: The fact that some of his actions, especially in the international arena, could ONCE AGAIN conceivably lead to actual war, death and destruction means nothing to Obama as long as he gets his petty revenge for being dismissed. Obama STILL doesn't care if he burns his own party to the ground with his actions.

I think those three added words make your statement slightly more accurate.

madAsHell said...

Others believe that Obama, like a bad tenant, is trying to ruin everything in the apartment he no longer rents.

My apartment neighbor in Elyria, Ohio plugged the drains, turned on the water, and moved out. They looked an awful lot like Obama as well.

PB said...

Petulant children.

Rance Fasoldt said...

My prediction is that the worst is yet to come. Obama will pardon confessed cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal. He's black, he's muslim, he's Left - far Left. Wesley Cook killed Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner in 1981 with an execution shot to the back of the head, after a routine traffic stop of his brother William Cook. He was formerly a star reporter on WHYY, the NPR outlet in Philadelphia. I listened to him and his sign-off for years, which is why I know his name is pronounced "MOO-meeya," not the "Moo-MEE-ya" you will hear his Hollywood admirers use.

jg said...

Obama is successfully leaving stinkbombs (Iran cash payments+nukes, Israel resolution) that Trump can't easily undo. But that's a weak Post article. Trump can undo any exec order he likes. Some development is blocked for a month? Trump will unblock it.

JRoberts said...

President Obama probably believes his actions in the final days of his presidency are resume enhancers.

The big question is: What job is he applying for?

320Busdriver said...

I couldn't make a difference so you can't either...sticks out tongue

Small....really small

Birkel said...

Rance Fasoldt:

Obama can pardon federal crimes.

Seeing Red said...

This is who he's always been.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Once written, twice... said...
Ann, within a year you will be embarrassed that you did not do one critical post about Trump during his rise in 2016."

Leftist troll thinks that if he keeps repeating a lie, it will become true.

Either that, or he's been driven utterly mad by Trump's election and can do nothing but post the same line over and over again.

Quaestor said...

"The GAO's report confirms what many of us have long known to be true: Claims made by Bush administration officials of widespread vandalism at the White House during the transition just weren't true,'' said Rep. Anthony D. Weiner (D-N.Y.). "The Bush administration owes them a long-overdue apology."

Anthony fucking Weiner.

This is why Trump triumphed. Even the frost-encrusted yoopers with their honkers permanently blocked by chilblains could smell the rot in Washington ergo ergo true blue Michigan goes suddenly red.

alan markus said...

Either that, or he's been driven utterly mad by Trump's election and can do nothing but post the same line over and over again.

It is what he says over and over while he fingers his rosary beads, praying for Trump to fire up the ovens to prove that "We elected Hitler."

damikesc said...

OT: watching CNN report on Milo's new book deal is demonstrative about bow bad they are. "Profiting off hate" and "Twitter Troll signs book deal".

Quaestor said...

Either that, or he's been driven utterly mad by Trump's election and can do nothing but post the same line over and over again...

Symptom: Repeats phrases, Repetitive behaviors and Unusual behavior.

Diagnosis:
1) Autism
2) Epilepsy (temporal lobe)
3) Depression (Adult)
4) Depression (Child and Adolescent)
5) Schizophrenia
6) Aspirin poisoning
7) ALS dementia
8) Narcotic abuse
9) Bipolar disorder
10) Tourette syndrome
11) Intoxication
12) Hypothyroidism (infant and child)
13) Cyanide poisoning

The omens declaim 4 or 5 with a bit of 5, 8, and 11 thrown in by the gods for good measure. Quaestor the Augur proscribes 2000 mg of Ambien and call me in the morning.

Rick said...

When W left he took cues from his successor on TARP implementation and related financial crisis reactions. It's not enough that cooperation only works one way but progressives have to gaslight everyone about it also.

Christopher said...

Oddly enough I think that in acting in this manner Obama is actually making things easier for Trump and the Republicans.

Nobody outside of Obama's true believers views these recent actions by him as anything but spiteful acts by a departing administration which means there will be little political cost for reversing them. Actually, given the petty appearance of these acts the Republicans probably stand to gain with their base in doing so.

Also in being as obvious about his motives as he has Obama will have basically lost any real influence he had on Trump.

The only real question is how much the Democrats will fight any actions taken to reverse these recent decisions. Normally I'd say that they'd put up a decent fight (or as much as they can regarding executive orders and administrative rule-making) but given the anger about the Israel debacle I'm not entirely sure how they'll react.

Quaestor said...

Normally I'd say that they'd put up a decent fight (or as much as they can regarding executive orders and administrative rule-making) but given the anger about the Israel debacle I'm not entirely sure how they'll react.

I expect universal resistance from the Democrats. The upper echelons of that decrepit party are strongly influenced by self-loathing Jews who could not give a fig for the lives of Israeli Jews, so the UN betrayal will not restrain them.

CWJ said...

These actions aren't futile politically. They're calculated. Every time Trump unwinds an Obama order, the media and Democrats will spin it as the end of the world and scream bloody murder. Since they've nothing to offer, it gives them something to do. The only question will be how effective that will be beyond their base.

rhhardin said...

I suggest an Obama is a piece of shit tag.

Alex said...

Fortunately Putin understands that Obama is just a petulant man-child and is not retaliating. He knows a reset is coming Jan 20th. Putin is a real leader.

Alex said...

very time Trump unwinds an Obama order, the media and Democrats will spin it as the end of the world and scream bloody murder.

Reminds me of a child threatening to scream himself blue in the face if you don't buy him another ice cream. Let the idiots scream. It's popcorn time.

buwaya said...

CWJ is right, much of this is pre- positioned material for future outrage cycles. Much like, for instance, Clinton's last minute clean water regulations that Bush rescinded - the arsenic scandal of 2001.

Christopher said...

The only question will be how effective that will be beyond their base.


But that's where the optics come into play.

Presidents always do last minute executive orders/rule making on pet projects or issues that play to the base but I can't recall one throwing a foreign policy bomb like this administration's Israel debacle. That is out of the ordinary and it gathered a huge amount of attention, attention which has been decidedly negative for Obama.

In being as obvious and petty as he has been Obama has made it so that nobody outside of the hardcore left thinks that these actions are anything but spiteful attempts to box in Trump which makes it easier and less costly to undo them.

Fernandinande said...

Curious George said...
A double flush isn't going to be enough to get rid of this turd. Gonna need the plunger.


Flush him at Trump Tower, which is 664 feet tall; the water pressure at the ground floor could be as much as 285 PSI, and a toilet with a 4" diameter drain could have over 3500 pounds of force.

Here's a map of "Bears Ears". Note the Navajo Res directly south (tho you mostly "can't get there from here" because of the San Juan River canyon) and the Ute Res to the East. A few months ago the local papers were filled with "Native Americans[sic] are against the Monument designation because they use the area and don't trust the federal government", but now it's about 100% "Thanks Obama, for saving our Sacred Lands™". Weather[sic] they'll still be able to legally cut firewood is debatable.

"Obama Protects 1.65 Million Acres of Native American Land" is an amusing headline since the land is "owned" by the NFS and BLM, with a bit of private land thrown in.

CWJ said...

I don't understand the mild pushback I've received regarding my earlier comment. After all, I specifically made allowance for the chance that the spin, framing, and outrage concerning any unwinding could prove ineffective beyond the true believers. OTOH, the certainty that it would prove ineffective evinced by many commenters is not warranted. We all would do well to remember how federal funding for Planned Parenthood appeared doomed after the baby parts selling sting videos. Instead, they survived. I have no trouble imagining a similar scenario regarding any of the current possibilities, particularly any pushback against the UN. It would be Planned Parenthood all over again. Trump hates UNICEF. Trump hates UNESCO. Trump hates blue helmeted peackeepers.

It seems to me that if Trump wants to unwind any of this, he has to unwind all of it all in one shot. The outrage would be nuclear, but it would leave nothing in reserve afterward.

rcocean said...

"It's a little early to say just how useless the land around Las Vegas / Four Corners is, or other such parcels. Perhaps there is some economic value to it that isn't yet apparent, some industry, some shift in population, who knows."

Really? We've had what 150 years to figure out whether the land has any value. This land is "near" LV - its not "next to LV". Have you ever driven through Nevada - Excluding the area north of Carson city or around LV? Its miles of miles of nothing. Go look at the Google maps.

It reminds me of the nuclear waste storage controversy. People got all upset at storing nuclear waste there despite the fact that 75% is inhabitable and worthless Desert.

rcocean said...

By that I meant, 75% of Nevada.

tcrosse said...

It's fun to speculate what sort of booby traps Obama might have left for Hillary, had she won. It's rumored that they despise one another, which is no surprise because they're both so despicable.

buwaya said...

I have been to Nevada often, thanks, way out to Elko.
The land around LV looks like a wasteland, but it may not be useless. Technology changes things. Like a new source of water. At some point, perhaps, plain old space will be important.

wildswan said...

The rebel alliance of the MidWest manufacturing states which defeated the Empire was a rebellion of the manufacturing workers against the Empire's policies which aimed to help the global mamagerial elite only. And Obama's lame duck squawks are his version of the empire striking back.

I think he wants to show what great things he would have done in his third term so we'll all miss him. But probably people will just feel horrified at his shiftiness in attacking Israel as a lame duck President even if they agree with his anti-semitic policies. There's a kind of dishonesty and a disregard of elections and of America that is evident and that will make even the UN or the PA hold their nose and regard him as a potential traitor to their cause, not as a valuable ally. The Mid-East has been laughing at John Kerry all along and when Obama is not the US President it will laugh at him.

Michael K said...

Do people understand that the 4 corners area and land outside Las Vegas is almost all worthless desert and mountain?

If it was worthless, I'm sure Obama and Clinton would not go to the trouble to make it a national "Monument."

Clinton was paying off a donor in Indonesia. I don't yet know who Obama is paying off.

There is somebody. I'm sure of that.

Vet66 said...

Gold Butte is near Lake Meade. It is also close to where the Bundy ranch was located that ended in a murder by federal officials. Grazing rights, governmental overreach, and Obama's dislike of those Cowboys who are patriots and support the second amendment. Coincidence? You decide.

Rusty said...

rcocean said...
"It's a little early to say just how useless the land around Las Vegas / Four Corners is, or other such parcels. Perhaps there is some economic value to it that isn't yet apparent, some industry, some shift in population, who knows."

Really? We've had what 150 years to figure out whether the land has any value. This land is "near" LV - its not "next to LV". Have you ever driven through Nevada - Excluding the area north of Carson city or around LV? Its miles of miles of nothing. Go look at the Google maps.

It reminds me of the nuclear waste storage controversy. People got all upset at storing nuclear waste there despite the fact that 75% is inhabitable and worthless Desert.


Trust me. For the right price somebody will figure out a way to make a buck out of it.